We Have Hope And Love
by Jstar-and-Astar
Summary: Weird crossover I know, but I was not happy with how Children of Earth ended. JackXIanto and KarouXAkiva. Karou brings Ianto back, and he is reunited with Jack. Rated because Jack and Ianto are getting back together and we know what they're gonna do. Spoilers for CoE.


Ianto awoke on the floor of the hub. For a moment, he couldn't figure out where he was. And then it hit him, along with crippling confusion. How . . . ? He remembered everything. The 456. Pain, the sudden loss of the ability to breathe. Choking, falling. And Jack. Jack crying, his hands on Ianto's body, cradling him. Ianto . . . his thoughts faltered then. He'd told Jack he loved him. And then . . . he'd died. And Jack had kissed him, one last time. Ianto sat up, quickly. How had he gotten here? And that brought him to the heart of the matter: how was he alive?

Scanning the area around him, he shakily heaved himself to his feet. The Hub looked normal. Cautiously he stuck out a hand and brushed the edge of Tosh's desk. It felt solid enough. Ianto frowned and walked, staggeringly towards Jack's desk. Perhaps . . . it was a dream? Hopefully now, he walked faster. Yes, it had all been a dream. And he would tell Jack, and Jack would laugh, and kiss him, and come up with some innuendo involving offices.

"Woken up, have you?" Called a female voice. An _unfamiliar _female voice. Losing hope now, Ianto turned.

A beautiful redheaded woman stood leaning against Owen's desk, a soft smile on her pale, pretty face. At Ianto's obvious confusion, her gaze grew almost motherly.

"You're confused." She was still smiling sadly as she stepped towards him. "Of course you are. It's only natural." Ianto began to wonder if he'd sustained a massive blow to the head and was now lying in bed in a coma.

"Um, sorry, do I know you?" Her grin grew even sadder.

"No love, you don't." When he opened his mouth, she beamed. "But you will soon." Drawing herself up to her full height she stepped towards him. "I am the goddess Ellai, of the chimaera and the second moon." If possible, Ianto grew even more confused.

"Chimaera? Is that a type of alien? And the second moon?"

Ellai gripped his hand and tugged him to Jack's desk, where she sat down and motioned for him to do the same. Ianto did, partly because he was confused and partly because he was growing tired and slow, as though his limbs were filled with lead.

"The chimaera are a race that you would know of as devils, and they fight a race called the seraphim, known to you as angels." Ianto opened his mouth, but the goddess held up a finger and he immediately quieted. There was something powerful about her despite her fragile appearance.

"They are locked forever in a war, one I don't quite agree with. Now, you have fallen into the hands of one of my children." Ianto stayed quiet. Ellai smiled a little, her eyes cycling through every color he'd ever seen and some he hadn't. "You may speak, Ianto Jones."

He swallowed. "Two moons? Where do the chimaera live?"

"In a world called Eretz, found through a slit in your skies." He started to talk again, and Ellai smiled. "I am the faintest of the moons. My sister Nitid is the goddess of tears and life, and the sky is hers. No one worships me but assassins and secret lovers." She leaned forward. "And for you, Ianto Jones, the time has come to leave my realm." She stroked his cheek, and he felt his eyelids grow heavy.

"Ellai," he got out, his tongue thick in his mouth. "Did you intend for Jack and me to be together? Or are we just a fling? Does Jack really love me?"

The goddess smiled, radiant, and in her face, Ianto could see everyone he loved. And he believed that she was indeed a goddess. "I think, Ianto Jones, that you know the answer." And she whispered something in his ear, but by then he was too far gone to make it out.

Once again, Ianto was waking up. This time, someone was standing over him.

"Ellai?" He groaned. "Ellai?"

The girl's face came into focus. And that was when Ianto noticed the first eccentricity of her appearance: her hair was bright blue.

"I'm not Ellai." She sounded as though she were on the verge of laughing. "And I thought you were human." That was more of an accusation than a question, but he answered anyway.

"I've just heard of her." He sat up gingerly. "Where am I?" The girl turned towards a large window set in the stone wall, through which moonlight was spilling and he could see a sweeping desert landscape.

"Morocco," she called over her shoulder. "A kasbah out in the desert."

"Who are you?" He was possibly even more confused than he had been before.

"A resurrectionist." Was her impossibly perplexing response. She leaned out the window, into the cold night. "One of the chimaera."

Nodding, Ianto swept his eyes about. He was in a small room with walls of dusty stone, lying on a table. There were several other tables, cluttered with strange things such as clamps, and were those teeth? Across from him, on another table, there lay a small blond boy, entirely naked and seemingly sleeping. It was then that Ianto realized he was naked too. Anxiously, he tried to cover himself, but soon realized it didn't matter, as the girl did not turn around. Instead, she stayed facing the moonlit sky—which had one moon, he noted—her shoulders hunched as though she were preparing for bad news. His eyes fell on a door to his right. It was an entirely unremarkable door, a bit battered, but what was interesting about it was the astonishing number of locks, not to mention the crossbar that held it firmly shut. There was a door to his right, as well, this one painted green and with an odd black handprint in the center. He couldn't help but noticing that this one had nothing in the way of locks.

"There are clothes in the basket under the table." The girl said, resting her elbows on the windowsill. He quickly yanked on the clothes (a bit big for him, but he wasn't complaining), and the girl turned around as he finished.

"Okay, the chimaera." It was not a question, but she took it as one.

"Part animal, part human." At this she smiled, the same species of sad smile that Ellai had used, not really a smile at all. "They are made of disparate parts, all of them. I know I'm making it sound crappy, but it's really not."

Ianto shook his head, adjusting his jeans and wishing he had a tie. "How are you their resurrectionist? You're not chimaera." That made even the faintest hint of a smile drop away.

"It's very complicated. Long story short, I'm not the first resurrectionist, and you can make a body look however you want when you bring someone back."

"So you were chimaera?" She nodded. "You make bodies?"

"For the war." Her face fell and she studied the floor. "I make soldiers from teeth." Catching his eye, she smiled. "We don't usually get involved with humans."

"Why did you bring me back?" The question made the smile vanish.

A faraway look came to her eyes. "He looked so sad," she said in a distant voice, sounding oddly detached.

"Who?"

"Your . . ." Her brows met. "Lover, I think. The man in the World War II coat." She leaned against the table. "He was crying over your body, almost wailing, and I-" Her voice broke, and she swallowed sharply, a tear making its way down her sculpted cheek. "I thought that he really loved you. And when you love someone, you can see their face in the moon." Ianto thought that a bit random, but it was beautiful, and it triggered a snap of memory within him, although if you asked him he couldn't pinpoint it exactly. Turning back towards him, the girl's mouth twisted wryly. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you cry."

Ianto scrubbed at his cheeks anxiously. "You're crying too." One of her brows rose, but otherwise she didn't move. Overall, she would've been quite beautiful, had she not had a drawn, pale look. She looked slightly unhealthy, her collarbones very obvious through the skin of her chest. Otherwise, she would appear lovely, if you didn't look too deeply into her eyes. If you did, you would see that she was dead inside, hollow and sad-eyed. Ianto noted that Jack had the same look to his eyes, but he had seen it soften when he kissed him. And oh, but it hurt to think of Jack.

"Jack?" The girl's eyes were wide. "Is that his name?" Ianto flushed crimson and nodded. The girl smiled the first genuinely happy smile he had seen on her.

"Who's this?" Ianto gestured to the small boy on the table. The girl brushed back the boy's hair.

"From what I heard, Jack's grandson."

"How did he die?"

Her face darkened. "Jack used him to destroy those aliens."

"Jack wouldn't do that."

"He didn't have any choice, Ianto." He started to say something, but the girl put a finger to his lips. "You will take him back to his mother when he wakes up." She stroked the boy's forehead. "His name is Steven, and he thinks Jack is his uncle." She shot him a serious look. "I must warn you; months have passed since you died. I have been too busy to resurrect you until now. Things have changed since you died."

"Is Jack all right?"

She paused. "Define 'all right'." At his worried expression, she sighed. "He's changed too, but I think you'll find he's the same man you fell in love with."

Ianto let out a relieved breath. "What's your name?"

"Mad-" She stopped, hitched, and her mouth opened and closed. She tried again. "Ma-Karou." Shaking herself, she thrust a hand to him. "My name is Karou."

Ianto smiled and took it. "Nice to meet you, Madmakarou."

She laughed shortly. On the table, Steven stirred, blinking. "Where am I?" He glanced around worriedly. "Where's Mom? And Uncle Jack?"

Ianto knelt next to him and stared into his eyes. "Not here, but I'll take you to them, okay?"

Steven nodded and watched him solemnly as Ianto helped him tug on his clothes.

"Now how exactly are we going to get to Jack?" Karou pointed to the hand printed door with a mysterious grin.

"It's more than it seems." She said at his quizzical expression.

"How will it find its way to Jack?"

Her face was serious. "When you love someone, you will _always_ find your way back to them." There was a wistfulness, an almost _knowing_ness to her tone.

"You speak as someone who knows."

Her expression was bleak, full of sorrow and loss. "I did know, once." Her face cleared. "Any who." Grabbing his arm, she scribbled something into his palm. He squinted at it. _Bluekarou ._ "It's my email." She capped the pen and set it down on the table. "Contact me when you need to. Oh and . . ." Smoothly, she pressed a small bronze coin and a wishbone into his hand. "Use this for minor wishes." Her face was solemn. "And use the wishbone for hopes."

This confused Ianto, but he didn't comment, just slipped them into his pocket. "And how will I know when to use the wishbone?"

Now Karou's eyes glittered like black diamonds, twin chips of obsidian. "Trust me, you'll know." She paused, cocking her head to one side. "And believe me when I say; hope makes real magic."

And then she had opened the door and ushered them through, and they were in a small, closet-like vestibule, and Ianto opened the door ahead of them. He and Steven stepped out.


End file.
